Middle East Politics

ISIS has made it clear that they want to eradicate the Shia. This has lead to the killings of many Shias, and even Sunnis who do not sympathize with their cause. It has also lead to the formation of Shia militias that have reportedly targeted Sunnis in Shia majority cities such as Baghdad.

Considering all of the opinions, debates and rebuttals, I must admit that, for the first time, I feel frustrated with academic analysis of this watershed moment. The Arab people have been denied agency. It is high time armchair academics stop trying to fit political history into familiar and convenient theoretical frameworks.
The Arab Spring was about people who said enough is enough. Incredible. Who knew individuals mattered? And yet some experts and critics in the West and leftist Arab intellectuals remain reluctant or maybe even unable to go beyond these grand theories and structural paradigms.

Water is an invaluable commodity in the Middle East. Due to the region's scarcity of this vital natural resource, water can be used to perpetuate conflict, fuel wars, and even procure peace. Contrary to claims made by Dr. Shaddad Attili, the Minister of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), in his Huffington Post Canada commentary, Israel exports volumes of water to the West Bank greatly in excess of what the Oslo Accords had mandated.